#452 Joe Matt’s “The Poor Bastard”

poorbastardJoe Matt was one of ‘The Toronto Three’ in the 90’s; he was a no-holds barred autobiographical cartoonist who, with his friends Chester Brown and Seth, ushered in the first wave of Drawn and Quarterly work. Matt drew attention for his sense of humor as well as exposing the depraved corners of his life, including porn addiction, excessive cheapness, and an increasingly destructive relationship with his girlfriend Trish. Kumar and Koom discuss The Poor Bastard and reflect about encountering Matt’s work, the interaction between real life and representation, and the connection between humor and depravity.

LINK: Did the woman Frankie was modeled after demand to be left out of Joe’s comic?

#451 Frank Santoro and comics geometry

PompeiiThis week, an interview with Frank Santoro, who writes for the Comics Journal, teaches comics creation (mostly through the Web), and has published several graphic novels, including Storeyville and Pompeii. We discuss using geometry to design a comics page, the artists he draws attention to on his Comics Workbook page, the reason Pompeii is in such a rough drawing style, and more.

#450 “My Friend Dahmer”

My Friend DahmerHow would you feel if someone you went to high school with showed up on the news as a murderer? That’s what happened to the cartoonist Derf Backderf, who was acquainted with future serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer when they were teenagers in the ’70s.

Backderf looks back on this experience, and the warning signs missed by all, in his 2011 graphic novel My Friend Dahmer. It’s more than just a memoir — Backderf did a lot of research and includes a lot of things he had no way of knowing about when they happened back in the ‘70s. Matching up his own Dahmer experiences with information that came to light after Dahmer’s arrest makes for a book that’s both chilling and thoughtful, and one that Kumar and Tim couldn’t put down! This week, our review.

#449 Ian M: Comics, Squared

SquareAnthropomorphized cats in a Pulp Fiction-style shootout; a tiny man found sleeping in the grass; two people hiding in an abandoned restaurant during some catastrophic event. These were some of the one-page, where’s-the-rest-of-it scenes in Ian M‘s Square 11, discussed on Critiquing Comics last year.

This week, Ian tells Tim what he was going for in those scenes, about his autobio comics (including Square 12, “Alone in Kyoto”), things that work better in comics than in other media, and more.

#448 “A Drifting Life”: Memoir and manga history

A Drifting LifeYoshihiro Tatsumi, although he was a somewhat influential figure in the manga of the 1950s and ’60s, is largely forgotten in Japan today. However, within the past 10 years he has gained some belated fame in the West, thanks largely to the efforts of Adrian Tomine and Drawn & Quarterly.

Tatsumi passed away last month, prompting Tim and Kumar to finally pull his comics memoir (which also includes considerable amounts of 1950s manga history) A Drifting Life off the shelf and do a review! And here it is.

#447 Rob Guillory: The other CHEW drops

Tony Chu in love

This week Rob Guillory joins Tim to give his side of the genesis of Chew (following on John Layman‘s side a few weeks ago), describe how he had trouble finding anyone who wanted him to draw in his own style, recall the shock of realizing that drawing could actually be a paying job, and more.

#446 Tom Spurgeon

Tom SpurgeonOur frequent guest Tom Spurgeon this time sits for an interview with Tim, discussing his childhood interest in comics; his lousy pre-Comics Journal job & how he got into TCJ; the Top 100 comics of the 20th Century issue (and why nothing by Dave Sim made the list); his new job, organizing an annual comics festival with the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum; the controversy over a certain recent Batgirl cover; and more.

To The Batpoles! #002: Riddle me this!

Frank Gorshin as The RiddlerNow that we’ve set the stage, it’s time to get down to business and really look at the Batman show — and where else to start but the beginning? We talk about how the series made its way to the air, and the pilot story arc Hi Diddle Riddle and Smack in the Middle, starring Frank Gorshin as the Riddler, and Jill St. John as Molly.

#445 Secrets of “The Sculptor”

sculptor

By now you’ve no doubt read or listened to several reviews of Scott McCloud’s The Sculptor — and perhaps you’ve read the book itself. Mainstream-media and average-Amazon-user reviews have been adulatory; reviews in the comics media have ranged from a hesitant thumbs-up to vitriol-fests. But, it seems to us, all of those reviewers are missing some things — both about the book’s intended message and how that message looks in light of McCloud’s own purpose in making the book.

Should comics people be concerned about the impression this book from the lionized McCloud might make on new comics readers? Is it a book about “living in the now”? Does it really read like a book for teens? Tim discusses these questions and more with Loyola Marymount University Associate Professor Juan Mah y Busch.

#444 “Scott Pilgrim”, Reconsidered

Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour

Years ago, when the Scott Pilgrim series was only half-finished, Tim and Brandon discussed it on this show. Since the series was completed, we’ve discussed Bryan Lee O’Malley’s other books (Lost at Sea and Seconds), causing Tim to reconsider Pilgrim, what O’Malley did right (and wrong) in the series, and what it all means.

This week, Tim and Kumar take on the whole six-volume series. Was it really necessary for Ramona to have so many exes? Did Scott end up with the right girl? These questions and more!